Fabolous Talks Samples, Ethics & J. Cole

Fabolous sixth studio album The Young OG Project finds the iconic rapper working with samples in new and exciting ways. "I just like to create. I usually don't even get in that process…that whole process of clearing samples. I understand that it's somebody else's work and having to get permission and stuff but sometimes it holds the work back," the rapped told Fuse. "You are paying homage, and you are putting your creative spin on something. I recently listened to J. Cole's album, and he went on a sample rant, and I was right there with the brother. I was like, 'Let's go, Cole. Let's go to the Supreme Court. Let's do a Million Man Sample March!' I was with him."

For Fab, that means grabbing from his beloved '90s. "I try to look, overall, [at] the project and get different vibes, too. I felt like the '90s catered to that. It had so much diversity within the music. There was gangsta rap, there was backpack, there was female rap, there were all different lanes," he explained. "You could throw it on your iPod and have different vibes. Now that's what you want. Sometimes you're not all one lane. Sometimes you need to go a different direction. That's what I wanted to do with the project but still sounding '90s at the same time, still having that little piece in it that keeps it jelling sonically."